Is my starter about to die?

[nj1sh]

I been having problems getting my car started. In the past few weeks the car has given me trouble in the morning. I thought maybe its due to the cold weather but now it will take roughly 10 minutes of trying and trying and it will finally start. It ticks but it wont start until 20-30 tries. I tested the battery and it seems fine i hooked it up with another car and realized that wasnt the problem. Is this a starter problem and can it be replaced in my backyard. I have a 96 maxima. thnx

[Darktide]

how exactly did you go about testing a battery? Unless you have a full function tester that can test the battery under load, you haven't tested it. Aside from that tidbit of information, yes, you have a starter that's dyeing. The reason it takes so long is because of dead spots in the starter gears. Just as a heads up, I would certainly have the auto parts store test the rebuilt starter in the store before bringing it home and putting it in. It'll save a lot of swearing if it is bad off the shelf (more common than you'd think). As for being able to do things in a backyard... I wouldn't see why not but I've never done a starter on a max before. Hopefully someone else will help out with that.

Jay

[nj1sh]

Jay thanks for the reply. The way I tested it was by connecting my battery with another car with the engine running. So i guess its not power thats causing the problem. I only hear a tick sound.

[NutriaforBreakfast]

On my 95 a starter changeout was really easy compared to a ***&%$ Ford. The starter is up high and the ford is underneath.

[Darktide]

yeah, definitely looking at a few dead spots in your starter. If you get a chance, bring your car down to an Advance or Autozone and have them test your battery. That's the **** part about the starter/alternator/battery triangle. If the starter or alternator starts to go it makes life really hard on the battery. It should only take about 5 minutes for a normal parts person to do it (I did it for 2 years so I would know). Any who, if you do it yourself (which I suggest you do, for the money and the experience), make sure they test your old starter and your new starter on the bench tester before you leave. The last thing you want is to put the new one in and have it be bad.

As for Ford starters... they are cake.. same with Chevy. The only time I had a pain with my chevy was because I had headers that tucked in close (it was an old school camaro) and they didn't make them with lots of room to move around. Jay

[nj1sh]

Anyone got experience replacing one of these I have no idea how to get to it what needs to be removed first

[jltibbs]

take out your air intake box and tube to access the starter. also, you might call nissan with your VIN and ask if there are any recalls on it. some fourth gens had recalls on alternators and starters.

[nj1sh]

found this starter for $80 on ebay and they say its new its probably rebuild anyway it has a yea warranty. will this fit ? my maxima is build on 12/95

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors...ZWDVW

NISSAN MAXIMA 96 3.0L From Mid 1996, 10-Tooth Drive
Modified by nj1sh at 3:36 PM 1/31/2008

[Darktide]

please don't buy something like a starter on ebay...

[BIAbenny]

please don't buy something like a starter on ebay...

Go for something good, warranty would be nice.I'm sure you don't want to replace your starter every 3 months

[Darktide]

and by good i'm sure he means from a local parts store (checkers, autozone, advance, etc..) so you have a place you can go to to get it warranted. Most of these places carry lifetime warranties on their parts. Well worth it's weight in gold

Jay

[nj1sh]

thank you guys for the help. I got one from an auto parts store around my house. I installed it with a friend and it took no longer than 30 minutes. I just to remove the air filter container and everything was easy from there.

[stellar678]

Did the new starter solve your problem?

I've been having a similar problem on my 3rd gen Maxima, but it only seems to happen after cold nights (within 5 or 10 degrees of freezing). Starter clicks for maybe 10 seconds, then goes silent, then the engine SLOWLY starts turning over, speeding up over maybe 20 seconds, until it starts.

It didn't seem like a starter problem to me because it starts again fine if I don't let it sit for a long time in the cold.

Any ideas? Thanks!

[nj1sh]

Yea the new starter solved my problem. In your case based on what you are saying is that the starter is working but the rotations are slow. If a starter goes bad you only hear a single click and no response at all. It could be just the battery so check that out.